Citation

Smid GE, Drogendijk AN, Knipscheer J, Boelen PA, Kleber RJ. Transcult. Psychiatry 2018; 55(5): 648-668.

Affiliation

Arq Psychotrauma Expert Group; Utrecht University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, McGill University, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1363461518784355

PMID

30027823

Abstract

Exposure to mass trauma may bring about increased sensitivity to new or ongoing stressors. It is unclear whether sensitivity to stress associated with ethnic minority/immigrant status may be affected by severe exposure to mass trauma. We examined whether the loss of loved ones or home due to a disaster is associated with more persistent disaster-related distress in ethnic minorities compared with Dutch natives in the Netherlands. In residents affected by a fireworks disaster ( N = 1029), we assessed disaster-related distress after 3 weeks, 18 months, and 4 years. The effects of loss of loved ones or home and ethnic minority/immigrant status on distress were analyzed using latent growth modeling. After controlling for age, gender, education, employment, and post-disaster stressful life events, the loss of loved ones was associated with more persistent disaster-related distress in ethnic minorities compared with natives at 18 months, and the loss of home was associated with more persistent disaster-related distress in ethnic minorities compared with natives between 18 months and 4 years. Our results suggest that the loss of loved ones may increase sensitivity to stress associated with ethnic minority/immigrant status during the early phase of adaptation to a disaster. Loss of home may lead to further resource loss and thereby increase sensitivity to stress associated with ethnic minority/immigrant status in the long term. Efforts to prevent stress-related psychopathology following mass trauma should specifically target ethnic minority groups, notably refugees and asylum seekers, who often experienced multiple losses of loved ones as well as their homes.

Language: en

Keywords

disasters; ethnic minority status; posttraumatic stress disorder; stress sensitivity; traumatic loss